I don't know the manga you mentioned, but got some recommendations. Unless I'm forgetting something specific they're all pretty clean.

-Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou (YKK)/Yokohama Shopping Log: For me, this one's probably the closest in feel to Yotsuba, in that it's slice-of-life at almost it's most basic level, even if it doesn't have a cute little girl. It centres around the daily life of Alpha, a robot girl who owns a cafe in a peaceful post-apocalyptic world. A peaceful, relaxing and slow-paced (in a good way) read.

-Gin no Saji/Silver Spoon: A drama/coming of age story about Yugo Hachiken, a city boy who decides on an agricultural high school in the countryside. He's strong academically but meets many new and unexpected challenges living the farm life. By the author of FMA, although this is very much grounded in reality and has some great character development for Hachiken and his friends.

-Koe no Katachi/A Silent Voice: A drama about Nishimiya Shouko, a deaf girl who is bullied by her classmates, chief among them being Ishida Shouya. Eventually Nishimiya drops out of school and Ishida becomes the class target. Years later, they meet again and set out on a path of healing, both for themselves and the people around them. This is a very good, impacting drama that gracefully covers some very painful and delicate issues. Digitally available on Crunchyroll with a manga subscription or guest pass.

-Annarasumanara: This is a manhwa, a Korean comic, about a young girl, scrapping by to provide for herself and her sister, who meets a mysterious magician in an abandoned theme park. It's a tale about growing up and the wonder of finding the child in yourself again. Includes magic of the stage magician variety. Available legally (as far as I know) in English here.

-Haikyuu!!: A high school sports manga about the Karasuno boys volleyball team, specifically newcomers Hinata and Kageyama. It hits all the notes for a sports shounen series but the whole is definitely greater than the sum of it's parts. The pacing is good and there's a nice blend of humour, drama and (match)tension. The characters are really memorable and unique with a decent sprinkling of development.

I don't know what broke to make you like this, but I must be broken too if I'm standing here praising your destructiveness. -Rock (Black Lagoon)

As I had encountered kindness, I wanted to be kind myself. -Takashi Natsume (Natsume's Book of Friends)

So I'm looking for some new manga series to delve into, and I really would appreciate suggestions on manga with happy endings (as in the main couple ends up together, I can't stand sad endings they make me depressed). Three of my favorites I've read are Shinobi Life, Dengeki Daisy and Fushigi Yuugi.

As I mentioned in the anime thread, I am currently suffering [i/Noragami] withdrawal. I will get the next volume of the manga next week, but I anticipate galloping through that and then wanting more. Any recommendations?

Here are my specifications:1) I would prefer something completed, not an ongoing manga. I am currently following too many ongoing manga, and the wait for the next volume drives me crazy!2) It can be an action or drama, and may or may not be supernatural, but . . .3) It *has* to have romance, and I much prefer a happy ending. 4) I have a high tolerance for problematic content, provided the manga itself is good.5) It has to be available legally in the US. It does not need to be free, though. I will spend money for something good.

Mouse2010 wrote:As I mentioned in the anime thread, I am currently suffering [i/Noragami] withdrawal. I will get the next volume of the manga next week, but I anticipate galloping through that and then wanting more. Any recommendations?

Here are my specifications:1) I would prefer something completed, not an ongoing manga. I am currently following too many ongoing manga, and the wait for the next volume drives me crazy!2) It can be an action or drama, and may or may not be supernatural, but . . .3) It *has* to have romance, and I much prefer a happy ending. 4) I have a high tolerance for problematic content, provided the manga itself is good.5) It has to be available legally in the US. It does not need to be free, though. I will spend money for something good.

Alrighty! Not sure what you have or have not read before, so I'm just going to list a few in alphabetical order and hope it helps, LOL!

* Dengeki Daisy - (Drama + Romance, completed) - Has a strong heroine along with one of the best couples I've seen in shoujo, plus the humor and situations completely turn the usual tropes on their ear. Happy ending. Legally available in print via the publisher VIZ.

* Fruits Basket - (Drama + Romance, completed) - At first funny, then serious later on, this beautiful series about love + breaking curses + redemption is still my all-time #1 favorite manga. Happy ending. Legally available in either its old out-of-print translation via library, or the just-licensed new print edition via the publisher Yen Press.

* Lucifer And Biscuit Hammer - (Action + Drama + Romance, completed) - Not what it might sound like, LOL -- it's basically an excellent seinen inversion of shounen themes, complete with a rather unusual main couple. Happy ending. Legally available on Crunchyroll in digital form or in print via the publisher Seven Seas Entertainment.

* Ouran High School Host Club - (Parody + Drama + Romance, completed) - Yeah, it's a (hilarious) shoujo parody, but it gets a tiny bit more serious later on, and the romance is sweet. Happy ending. Legally available in print via the publisher VIZ.

* Tenken - (Drama + Romance, completed) - This is a more unusual recommendation-- it's a short, one-volume tale loosely based on an old Japanese legend of an evil supernatural snake that eats people who are 'offered' to it-- but a great one all the same. And yes, it has both romance and a happy ending. Legally available in print via the publisher One Peace Books.

(And there are a few more that I would absolutely recommend as well, however they are either/both ongoing or are not legally available here yet. )

I was going to recommend Tenken, also, as the very first thing that came to mind, but MangaRocks! beat me to it, so consider that recommendation seconded.

Other than that, I'm not very good at knowing what is and is not licensed in the States, but . . .

. . .

Basara. Shoujo but has a lot of very intense political and military action in a post-apocalyptic setting. I've only read about half of it, but it does have romance and I think it has a happy ending.

Along those lines, have you read Fushigi Yuugi yet? I would say the romance is extremely cheesy, but there's a very likable cast of characters with a good group dynamic, and overall it is a pretty decent story.

I really want to say Immortal Rain (very soft sci-fi/romance), but it was licensed by Tokyopop and not completely released yet when Tokyopop went under. It is complete at 11 volumes, but it looks like people are importing the French release for the last three volumes (there are some available on Amazon), since Tokyopop only got up to v. 8. I don't suppose you speak French? It is a solidly good series with a ridiculously happy ending.

If you like school life slice of life romcom, then Love*Com and High School Debut are probably the two I enjoyed the most, and those look like they are both fully released in the States.

Okay, I definitely have to read Tenken. That looks right up my alley. Some of the others are on my radar but I haven't read. And some of these are completely new: I don't think I'd even heard of Fushigi Yuugi before someone mentioned it in this thread. I may have to give that one a chance.

I asked for suggestions four years ago and got great suggestions. Now I'm in another manga lull, and would love more stuff to read. (I've been searching for stuff on my own, but it's hard to filter what's worth reading and what's not when life is super busy. XD)

Anyway. I'm a sucker for well-done romance. (Dengeki Daisy's my favorite manga because the relationship is dealt with so well. Teru is (mostly) self-aware when it comes to how she feels, and they actually grow together, have disagreements, and discuss their differences like real people.) I tend to choose stories dealing with everyday life over fantasy, but the most important element for me is character development. I'm also interested in Josei, but I haven't read any besides a little Chihayafuru.

A brief list of some stuff I've read and enjoyed:Dengeki DaisyFruits BasketAkatsuki no YonaSkip Beat Ao Haru RideTaiyou no Ie

Basically, I'd love some romance manga (doesn't have to be the main plot) with a more serious plot line than "does he like me back?!" Or just a manga with stellar character development.

This is kind of a long list, so I divided it into three categories. Also, a few of the titles I am recommending below are josei, so I marked those so you know which they are.

These first few are manga (with love or relationship themes) set in realistic present-day settings which I would particularly recommend:

Kamisama ga Uso wo Tsuku: extremely well-written one-volume must-read about a young boy, a girl his age, her younger brother, and their relationships and the things they are going through in their life at the time

Love so Life: a teenage girl being raised in an orphanage becomes the babysitter for an adorable young pair of twins whose father abandoned them and in doing so gets to know the twins' young, single uncle; both of the leads express Japanese cultural ideals, so it is interesting for that reason

Aozora Yell: high school drama that focuses heavily on the goals of the two leads in their respective club activities as the girl learns to play trumpet and the guy is involved with the baseball team; I've only read a few volumes, but it lets them slowly develop a friendship in which they are mutually encouraging to each other, which is a really nice thing

Kuragehime (josei): about for otaku NEET women and their battle to save the old, low-rent building they live in from destruction; their paths cross with a dreaded "fashionable person," the male lead, who cross-dresses but is heterosexual.

The next group of titles are also all set in present-day realistic settings; I enjoyed all of them to some extent, but they are not quite on the level of things I would universally recommend to anyone, so YMMV:

W-Juliet: male lead is cross-dressing for reasons related to his acting career, not due to anything having to do with gender identity or sexual orientation; notable for having a male lead who is just a really nice person

Lovely Complex: teens realistically acting like teens and sometimes doing stupid things, so maybe not good if you want to read about more mature characters; I personally found the humor hilarious

Koukou Debut: high school drama; I enjoyed the humor

NOTE: In Lovely Complex and Koukou Debut, although there is further development and the characters go through some ups and downs in their relationships, there is also some "Does he like me?" stuff at the beginning of both, and neither has the main couple get together at the very beginning of the manga, so whether or not there is too much of the "Does he like me?" stage and whether the development of the relationship later is deep enough for you will depend on your tastes, I think.

Hotaru no Hikari (josei): deals more or less realistically with the struggles of a young working woman in her work and love life

Dame na Watashi ni Koi wo Shite Kudasai (josei): another manga focusing on a career woman and her relationship with a former boss; I enjoy the humor but YMMV

Koi wa Ameagari no you ni: HUGE age difference (a teenage girl has a crush on a man in his forties) and I have only read the first few chapters, but this manga was very memorable and I remember thinking that the chapters I read were well-done

Finally, the following, while not actually having any real fantasy or supernatural elements, either play with those kinds of themes (e.g. stage magic in Annarasumanara) or are set in a setting that is different from everday life. However, they are all manga that I would consider to be very good, so if you are willing to try something that is not about everyday modern life, I would really recommend them.

Annarasumanara: Korean webcomic; uses the theme of stage magic to explore things going on in the characters' lives and how they choose to pursue their goals for the future

Ni no Hime no Monogatari: very beautiful one-shot; not fantasy but set in ancient China

Akagami no Shirayuki-hime: nothing supernatural but set in a sort of stereotypical setting with castles and royalty and things; noteworthy for the way that the female lead chooses to pursue excellence in her chosen profession in order to be able to support the male lead

Hiiro no Isu: again, set in a sort of fantasy-like world with castles and things, but nothing actually supernatural; interestingly plotted with a sort of loose resolution, but no romantic resolution